Job 33–34

33Wherefore, Job, I pray thee, hear my speeches,

And hearken to all my words.

^2aBehold, now I have opened my mouth,

My tongue hath spoken ^†in my mouth.

^3bMy words shall be of the uprightness of my heart:

And my lips shall utter knowledge clearly.

⁴The Spirit of God hath made me,

And ^cthe breath of the Almighty hath given me life.

⁵If thou canst ^danswer me,

Set ^ethy words in order before me, stand up.

⁶Behold, I am ^†according to thy wish in God’s stead:

I also am ^†formed out of ^fthe clay.

⁷Behold, ^gmy terror shall not make thee afraid,

Neither shall ^hmy hand be heavy upon thee.

⁸Surely thou hast spoken ^†in mine hearing,

And I have heard the voice of thy words, saying,

⁹ⁱI am clean ^jwithout transgression,

I am innocent; neither is there iniquity in me.

¹⁰Behold, he findeth ^koccasions against me,

^lHe counteth me for his enemy,

^11mHe putteth my feet in the stocks,

^mnHe marketh all my paths.

¹²Behold, in this thou art not just: I will answer thee,

That God is greater than man.

¹³Why dost thou ^ostrive against him?

For ^†he giveth not account of any of his matters.

¹⁴For God speaketh once,

Yea twice, yet man ^pperceiveth it not.

^15qIn a dream, ^rin a vision of the night,

^rWhen deep sleep falleth upon men,

In slumberings upon the bed;

¹⁶Then ^†he openeth the ears of men,

And ^ssealeth their instruction,

¹⁷That he may withdraw man from his ^†purpose,

And hide ^tpride from man.

¹⁸He keepeth back his soul from the pit,

And his life ^†from perishing by ^uthe sword.

¹⁹He is chastened also with pain upon his bed,

And the multitude of his bones with strong pain:

²⁰So that ^whis life abhorreth bread,

And his soul ^†dainty meat.

²¹His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen;

And his bones that were not seen ^xstick out.

²²Yea, his ^ysoul draweth near unto the grave,

And his ^ylife to the destroyers.

²³If there be a ^zmessenger with him, an ^ainterpreter,

^bOne among ^ca thousand,

To shew unto man ^dhis uprightness:

²⁴Then he is gracious unto him, and saith,

Deliver him from going down to the pit:

I have ^efound ^||a ransom.

^25fHis flesh shall be fresher ^†than a child’s:

He ^fshall return to the days of his youth:

²⁶He shall ^gpray unto God, and he will be favourable unto him:

And ^hhe shall see his face ⁱwith joy:

For he will render unto man his righteousness.

^27||He ^klooketh upon men, and if any ^lsay,

I ^mhave sinned, and ^mperverted that which was right,

And it profited me not;

^28||He will deliver ⁿhis soul from going into the pit,

And his life ^oshall see the light.

²⁹Lo, all these things worketh God

^†Oftentimes with man,

^30pTo bring back his soul from the pit,

To be enlightened ^qwith the light of the living.

³¹Mark well, O Job, hearken unto me:

Hold thy peace, and I will speak.

³²If thou hast any thing to say, ^ranswer me:

^sSpeak, for I desire to justify thee.

³³If not, hearken unto me:

Hold thy peace, and I shall ^tteach thee wisdom.

34Furthermore Elihu ^aanswered and said,

²Hear my words, O ye wise men;

And give ear unto me, ye that have knowledge.

^3bFor the ear trieth words,

As the ^†mouth tasteth meat.

^4cLet us choose to us judgment:

Let us know among ourselves what is good.

⁵For Job hath said, ^dI am righteous:

And ^eGod hath taken away my judgment.

^6fShould I lie against my right?

^†My wound is incurable ^gwithout transgression.

⁷What man is like Job,

^hWho drinketh up scorning like water?

⁸Which goeth in company with the workers of iniquity,

And walketh with wicked men.

⁹For ⁱhe hath said, It ^kprofiteth a man nothing

That he should delight himself with God.

¹⁰Therefore hearken unto me, ye ^†men of understanding:

^lFar be it from God, ^mthat he should do wickedness;

And from the Almighty, ⁿthat he should commit iniquity.

^11oFor the work of a man shall he render unto him,

And cause every man to find ^paccording to his ways.

¹²Yea, surely God will not do wickedly,

Neither will ^qthe Almighty pervert judgment.

¹³Who hath ^rgiven him a charge over the earth?

Or ^swho hath disposed ^†the whole world?

¹⁴If he ^tset his heart ^†upon man,

If he ^ugather unto himself his ^vspirit and his breath;

¹⁵All flesh shall ^uperish together,

And man ^uwshall turn again unto dust.

¹⁶If now thou hast understanding, ^xhear this:

Hearken to the voice of my words.

^17yShall even he that hateth right ^†govern?

And wilt thou condemn him that is most just?

¹⁸Is it fit ^zto say to a king, Thou art ^awicked?

And to princes, Ye are ungodly?

¹⁹How much less to him that ^baccepteth not the persons of princes,

Nor regardeth the ^crich more than the poor?

For ^dthey all are the work of his hands.

^20eIn a moment shall they die,

And the people shall be troubled ^fat midnight, and pass away:

And ^†the mighty shall be taken away ^gwithout hand.

^21hFor his eyes are upon the ways of man,

And he seeth all his ⁱgoings.

^22kThere is no darkness, nor ^lshadow of death,

Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.

²³For he will not lay upon man more than right;

That he should ^†enter into judgment with God.

²⁴He shall ^llbreak in pieces mighty men ^†without number,

And set ^mothers in their stead.

²⁵Therefore he knoweth their works,

And he ⁿoverturneth them ^oin the night, so that they are ^†destroyed.

²⁶He ^pstriketh them as wicked men

^†In the open sight of others;

²⁷Because they turned back ^†from him,

And would not ^qconsider any of his ways:

²⁸So that they ^rcause the cry of the poor to come unto him,

And ^she heareth the cry of the afflicted.

²⁹When he ^tgiveth quietness, who then can make trouble?

And ^uwhen he hideth his face, who then can behold him?

Whether it be done against a nation,

Or against a man only:

³⁰That the hypocrite reign not,

Lest ^xthe people be ensnared.

³¹Surely it is meet to be said unto God,

I ^yhave borne chastisement, I will not ^zoffend any more:

^32aThat which I see not teach thou me:

If I have done iniquity, I will do no more.

^33†Should it be according to thy mind? he will recompense it,

Whether thou refuse, or whether thou choose; and not I:

Therefore ^bspeak what thou knowest.

³⁴Let men ^†of understanding tell me,

And let a wise man hearken unto me.

³⁵Job hath spoken ^cwithout knowledge,

And his words were without wisdom.

^36||My desire is that Job may be tried unto the end

Because of his answers for wicked men.

³⁷For he addeth rebellion unto his sin,

He clappeth ^dhis hands among us,

And multiplieth his words against God.